Satisfaction of Life in Estonia Did Not Change

After months over months spent on debating the effects of the Estonian credit crunch and the local effects of the global financial crisis, the last data published by EuroBarometer showed that the impact of national economic decline might be less dramatic than expected.

Analyzing the level of satisfaction of Estonian people with their lives, EuroBarometer recent stats show how the results gathered in 2009 did not differ significantly from the ones registered two years before since 75 per cent of the respondents affirmed that they feel satisfied with their lives – which indicates that the share of people satisfied has been relatively disconnected from the country’s macroeconomic developments.

Satisfaction with one’s life has not been linked to individuals’ overall assessment of the State’s financial situation that has become very critical during the past two years. 77 per cent of citizens estimated that Estonia’s economic situation is currently bad. 75 per cent of the EU citizens think the same of their own countries.

The most significant problems seen in Estonia at the moment are, as previously, the unemployment rate and the economic situation. At the same time, individuals’ expectations towards the State’s financial position have become more optimistic – both in Estonia as well as elsewhere in the European Union.

While similarly to the other EU countries, Estonians also see that the priority is to achieve economic recovery and invigoration of economic growth, Estonians put less emphasis than the other European citizens on the fight against climate change.

Estonians continue viewing membership in the European Union positively – 62 per cent of respondents stated that Estonia’s membership in the EU is a good thing. 6 per cent disagree and 31 per cent are neutral on this issue.

The latest Eurobarometer survey was carried out in Estonia from October 23 to November 16. A total of 1,006 EU citizens residing in Estonia were polled.